News
30/11/2020 Olympus and Hellier NDT extend collaboration to train future NDT inspectors
Furthering a partnership that began in 1986, Olympus, a leading manufacturer of innovative non-destructive testing (NDT) solutions, has supplied Hellier’s Houston, Texas, USA location with advanced NDT inspection equipment. The industry-leading OmniScan™ X3 phased array flaw detector with full matrix capture (FMC)/total focusing method (TFM)and other Olympus instruments will be used to train the next generation of inspectors in ultrasonic testing (UT).
30/11/2020 NDT 2020 Webinar Week exceeds expectations
This year, the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT) was delighted to host the inaugural NDT 2020 Webinar Week – Your virtual conference experience. The event took place from 14-18 September 2020 and featured a series of themed webinars covering the latest advances in NDT and related technologies, along with plenary presentations, technical and industry Q&A sessions, papers from the UK Research Centre in NDE (RCNDE)’s Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Quantitative Non-Destructive Evaluation and exhibitors’ industry sessions.
24/11/2020 Enhanced UT software
Testia has released a new version of its best-selling software NDTkit UT, also known as Ultis, which is aimed at cutting costs and boosting efficiency.
24/11/2020 Weld seam scanner
Using Olympus’s new AxSEAM™ scanner, inspectors can easily set up and inspect long seam welds, enabling them to work more independently in the field. Along with the OmniScan™ X3 flaw detector, the scanner is an integral part of the company’s range of portable phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) inspection solutions targeting longitudinal weld inspection on pipes and pressure vessels.
23/11/2020 Scottish start-up Novosound transforming NDT market
Scottish technology start-up Novosound has launched its range of non-destructive testing (NDT) products, providing a technological breakthrough that will evolve how industry inspections take place.
23/11/2020 Cygnus thickness gauges detecting scrubber corrosion
Exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCSs), more commonly known as ‘scrubbers’, are currently being installed on thousands of vessels worldwide in order to comply with the IMO 2020 Sulphur Cap. As a recent innovation within the maritime industry, they have not been without some early issues, including EGCS corrosion. The wash water from scrubbers, containing the pollutants it has filtered, is acidic and therefore highly corrosive. The effect of the acidic nature of the corrosive scrubber wash water on the integrity of the ship is further aggravated by the high temperatures of exhaust gases. It is now firmly established that the structural integrity of the scrubber and associated pipework (for example SOx scrubber discharge water line) need to be regularly checked for signs of corrosion.
20/11/2020 Spending Review must support innovation to improve resilience and cut carbon emissions, say engineers
The government’s Spending Review should include support for innovation, especially to achieve the aims of net zero emissions, resilient infrastructure and nationwide digitalisation, according to recommendations published by the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC). The UK should aim to be not just a science superpower but a science, engineering and innovation superpower, enabling it to deliver the maximum economic and social returns from its investment in science.
19/11/2020 Monitoring oil health in wind assets
ONYX InSight, a provider of data analytics and engineering expertise to the global wind industry, has launched a multi data-stream technology for online oil monitoring that increases clarity, reduces risk and saves considerable operations and maintenance (O&M) costs for the wind industry.
19/11/2020 Smart construction partnership
In Canada, PCL Construction has announced that it has joined forces with an industry leader in smart testing technologies and real-time data collection for concrete, Giatec Scientific.
18/11/2020 White light interferometers
Precision sensor supplier Micro-Epsilon has developed a completely new range of high-performance white light interferometers that provide new accuracy levels in absolute non-contact optical distance and thickness measurement. With measurement resolution from 30 picometres and linearity from ±10 nm, these interferometers represent a step change in accuracy from its confocal measurement systems.
18/11/2020 Mobile OES analyser software
Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science has introduced SpArcfire, a piece of software that can be operated intuitively and is already available across Hitachi’s stationary spark optical emission spectrometer (OES) range, to its mobile OES analyser range. The new interface, optimised for touchscreens, delivers a greatly improved user experience, maximising speed and efficiency for both simple and complex metals analysis tasks. This intuitive new software removes the need for extensive training or highly experienced operators.
17/11/2020 New NDT player in the USA market
A new player in the NDT supply market, Alban NDE LLC, part of the ETher NDE Ltd and Baugh & Weedon Ltd family, opened its doors on 1 October 2020, offering a wide range of NDT products to the North American market, with fast turnaround times and a wealth of industrial expertise.
17/11/2020 Hundreds attend TWI’s virtual NDE webinar
TWI held a webinar, titled: ‘Solving Industrial Challenges in Non-Destructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring’, on 30 September 2020, drawing over 200 attendees on the day. With over 500 registrants and more than 50 questions submitted to experts during the event, the webinar was considered a success.
16/11/2020 Hitachi Rail to acquire Perpetuum
Hitachi Rail Ltd in the UK has agreed to acquire Southampton-based condition monitoring specialist Perpetuum as part of a strategy to strengthen the use of digital technology in rail operations.
16/11/2020 Konux improves switch monitoring
Konux has released its predictive maintenance system for switches, which is designed to help infrastructure managers increase network capacity, prolong asset lifetime and make maintenance more efficient.
13/11/2020 Building a diverse and inclusive research environment
The UK’s engineering and physical sciences community is being encouraged to take part in a series of surveys to inform plans to foster a diverse and inclusive research environment.
12/11/2020 NPL-led programme to boost competitiveness and resilience
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and its partner National Measurement Laboratories (NMLs), at LGC, NIBSC, TUV-NEL and NGML, are committed to supporting the UK government’s plans for economic recovery by providing specialist measurement advice and short-term projects to companies at no charge.
06/11/2020 NEXCOM partners with Coral from Google
NEXCOM has announced a series of Coral AI Edge telematics solutions, featuring the Edge tensor processing unit (TPU) accelerator.
05/11/2020 Element receives recognition with Sunday Times PwC Top Track 250 listing
Element Materials Technology (Element) has been ranked number 15 in the Sunday Times PwC Top Track 250, climbing 129 places since the company’s debut listing back in 2016.
04/11/2020 Advanced Nuclear Research Centre’s manufacturing project AWESIM gets go-ahead from UK government
A pioneering project that aims to embed inspection, closed-loop control and automation directly at the point of welding to deliver high-quality welds more accurately first time has won government backing.
03/11/2020 Sensors to detect micro-defects in materials under development
Sensors that detect micro-defects in materials are being developed in the UK by the Compound Semiconductor Centre (CSC), Cardiff University’s joint venture with IQE plc.
02/11/2020 Framework success for Responsive NDT
Responsive NDT, part of Responsive Ltd, has won a framework for new work with LLW Repository (LLWR) Ltd near Drigg, a Tier 1 organisation within the nuclear supply chain.
